Cyber-attacks rising in Utah, likely due to NSA facility (Update)

byBrady Mccombs

(AP)—Utah state officials have seen what they describe as a sharp uptick in attempts to hack into state computers in the last two years, and they think it related to the NSA data center south of Salt Lake City.

The increase began in early 2013 as international attention focused on the NSA's $1.7 billion warehouse to store massive amounts of information gathered secretly from phone calls and emails.

While most of the attempts are likely innocuous, cyber experts say it is possible low-level hackers, "hactivists" unhappy with the NSA's tactics, and some foreign criminal groups might erroneously think the state systems are linked to the NSA.

"Maybe these hackers are thinking: 'If we can attack state systems, we can get info that NSA isn't releasing," said Richard Forno, director of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County's, graduate cybersecurity program.

The state tracks the attempts with an automated system it purchased after a breach of health care information in 2012. The system detects, stops and counts the attempts to get into the computers, Squires said.

With that new equipment in place in January 2013, the state was seeing an average of 50,000 a day with spikes up to 20 million, Squires told The Associated Press. In February 2013, the number rose to an average of 75 million attacks a day, with up to 500 million on some days.

Attacks include direct attacks on websites, emails fishing for passwords, and something called "port scans," where people probe a computer looking for weak spots.

The NSA didn't immediately have any comment about the attacks.

Tim Junio, a cybersecurity researcher at Stanford University, said what officials refer to as "attacks" are likely just "noise from low-tech people rather than concerted efforts for meaningful foreign intelligence collection."

But both Forno and Junio agree the NSA data center could draw the attention of hackers who think they can target state-run utilities that power the center. Being able to disrupt an NSA operation in any way would bring international notoriety to a foreign state or criminal group, Junio said.

State officials acknowledge that part of the increase is driven by an overall rise in hacking across the country. Hackers' motivations vary, and it was impossible to determine what might be behind the activity in Utah.

Some steal personal information, like customer lists, to commit identity theft. Some take control of email servers to steal messages, send unwanted advertising or disguise the origin of their communications. Some steal corporate or government secrets from email or cloud servers, or use unlocked file servers as digital "dead drops" for their hacking tools, pirated movies, stolen files and more.

For hackers seeking notoriety, the NSA would be a prized target because it employs the world's best hackers and routinely gives advice about how to keep computers safe from online criminals.

Citation:
Cyber-attacks rising in Utah, likely due to NSA facility (Update) (2015, February 6)
retrieved 15 September 2019
from https://phys.org/news/2015-02-cyber-attacks-utah-due-nsa-facility.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

User comments

Nothing like a hearty dose of attacks to help ensure your defenses are in tip-top shape.

I'd be surprised if the NSA facility didn't include a wealth of contingency support, like backup generators. Ditto that they would have any great reliance on Utah's connections to the Internet. Shouldn't these same thoughts have occurred to the instigators of the attacks?

Maybe something more subtle, like an attempt to drown out more covert activity with all these noisy attacks.

E-mail the story

Cyber-attacks rising in Utah, likely due to NSA facility (Update)

Note

Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose.
The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys.org in any form.

Your message

Newsletter sign up

Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties.

Your Privacy

This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, and provide content from third parties.
By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy
and Terms of Use.